NY Times Article On Eric P. Newman

Quote:
In 1918, when he was 7, Eric P. Newman's grandfather gave him a strange old penny.

In the nearly 10 decades since, the passion for coin collecting ignited by that gift turned Mr. Newman into one of the hobby's most respected figures and a leading authority on the art and history of American money. Beginning last year, Mr. Newman â€" who, at 102, is still researching and writing on the hobby â€" began selling some of the prized items from his collection to benefit a foundation he established to promote scholarship on coins.

Late last week, two coins from that collection â€" a rare 1776 silver dollar minted by the Continental Congress and a 1792 experimental penny with a silver center â€" were sold at auction in New York for $1.41 million apiece. All told, four sales of coins from the Newman collection by Heritage Auctions of Dallas have yielded $44 million.

Mr. Newman has dedicated the proceeds to promoting the study of coins and popularizing the hobby. The Newman Money Museum he established at Washington University in St. Louis, where he obtained a law degree in 1935, has also benefited.